US President Donald Trump’s decision in January to classify drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists has put anti-money laundering compliance executives at US financial institutions doing business in Latin America on high alert when it comes to their AML programs. Based on the US Department of State including eight drug […]
SEC’s Short Sale Reporting Rule Comes Up Short
Fund management firms, soon required to report their short sale positions with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, could end up scrambling at the last minute to make the necessary operational changes while praying the regulatory agency agrees with their interpretations of some of its unclear requirements. Buy-side firms appear to be hoping the SEC […]
SS&C: $890M At Stake in Legal Tussle With BNY Mellon
A longstanding dispute over a market data contract with SS&C Technologies, which could cost BNY Mellon up to a whopping US$890 million in damages, highlights the danger of intentionally violating or even misinterpreting a critical element of such an agreement– distribution rights. At issue is whether BNY Mellon had the right to distribute market data […]
SEC Tells Mutual Fund Industry: Lost Accountholders Matter
Compliance directors at US mutual fund transfer agents and US mutual funds will have to follow the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules to a T and they will have more administrative work on their hands to inform investors about the perils of escheatment of unclaimed or “lost” accounts, based on the US Securities and […]
SEC’s Oversight of Cryptomarket Prompts Funding Debate
The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to ask Congress to increase its fiscal 2023 budget to more closely monitor the cryptoasset market has resurrected the issue of whether members of one asset class should subsidize oversight of another, but there is no change in sight. The regulatory agency’s crypto-related enforcement actions have soared over […]
What’s a CUSIP Worth? Over US$1B in Class Action Win
If you think you have been fleeced by CUSIP Global Services and others for paying licensing fees for nine-digit alphanumeric identification codes for US securities you might be entitled to a chunk of at least US $1 billion in compensation if a jury decides you’re right. All you must do is be part of an […]
LIBOR: Transition 1-2-3 in 2022
Breakups can be messy and switching from the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) to alternative reference rates (ARRs) will be no exception for trading, operations, fintech, risk and compliance managers in 2022. An ounce of preparing next year can translate into a pound of preventing errors in 2023, caution LIBOR operations and legal experts who […]
S in ESG Stands for Supply Chain
Do you know how green your third-party service providers are? That’s the question risk and vendor procurement managers at fund management firms, banks and broker-dealers must soon answer correctly or face reputational and regulatory consequences, say legal and data experts in environmental, social and governance policies. The vendors can be anyone from a fund administrator, […]
Bloomberg’s FIGIs Win Nod From US Standards Body: Now What?
Bloomberg finally got its wish for FIGIs– acceptance of its securities ID codes as a standard– but whether that equates to popularity for trade and post-trade operations managers remains to be seen. Trade, middle, and back-office operations, and compliance managers at buy and sell-side firms can now be certain that Bloomberg’s financial instrument global identifiers […]
FINRA’s CAT: Customer Account Data Management Challenge
Reporting correct customer data for the next phase of the requirements of the US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) system will end up being a time-consuming and costly exercise in data management for US broker-dealer regulatory reporting, trade compliance and IT managers. US broker-dealers are likely spending all their time addressing interfirm […]